The newspaper reported (1 August, 7:44 am) that while the deal has been agreed upon, the club are still looking to sign two more midfielders in James Ward-Prowse and Conor Gallagher.
Zakaria has been a long-term target for the Hammers in their bid to replace the o⁴utgoing Declan Rice, with further deals likely once Gianluca Scamacca completes his £24million move to Inter Milan.
Finally
West Ham fans will be excited just to finally have a signing through the door this summer.
It feels like a lifetime ago since Declan Rice’s departure to Arsenal was confirmed by the club, but since then none of the £105million gained from his sale has been reinvested
Now, Hammers fans can get excited over a very interesting prospect for them and someone who will look to fill some of the void left by Rice. He will not be the only midfield target, as Ward-Proowse looks the most likely to make the move to the London Stadium from Southampton after David Moyes pressed the board to complete the deal.
Their European success has done a lot to mask their poor league form, and significant improvements will be needed if West Ham want to avoid a relegation dogfight this season.
Zakaria’s signing is a good first step here. While his loan spell at Chelsea was not a huge success, he asserted himself in his few opportunities and showed enough for the Hammers to take a punt on him.
The report also suggested that once a deal for Scamacca is completed, then there will be more mobility in West Ham’s transfer window and perhaps Gallagher and Ward-Prowse could be the next additions through the door.
But new additions are needed and needed soon. With the new Premier League season less than two weeks away, there is still a long way to go if the Hammers want a successful window.
